As some of his peers were striking it rich last week, the only apparent numerical increases for Indiana’s Cody Zeller involved his bench press, his vertical leap, his playing weight. That he still can be described as “Indiana’s Cody Zeller,” though, means you will not see a concurrent escalation of his net worth. That will have to wait.

Both Sullinger and Jones were projected as lottery picks a year ago, chose to play a second season of NCAA basketball and wound up being selected in the latter part of the first round. The obvious conclusion, and it was reached by many, is each cost himself serious money by returning to college for their sophomore seasons.

So there’s a natural question about what their experience should teach Zeller and North Carolina’s James Michael McAdoo, each of whom was regarded as a lottery pick following his freshman season but chose to stick around college a second year.

The answer: Not a thing.

Because the contention that Sullinger and Jones declined as a result of their sophomore seasons is fallacious. It’s a myth. It ignores the progress made by the two players—in Sullinger’s case enormous, in Jones’ case more episodic. It also ignores that each, upon declaring his intent to leave college, again was projected as a lottery pick by the same people who evaluated the players as such a year ago.

It turned out those mock drafters were wrong. They might have been wrong a year ago, too. There’s no way to tell if the medical issues that appear connected to the two players’ draft placement would have arisen during rigorous NBA medical exams a year ago.

“Right away when you see those two drop, you’ve got to start with injuries,” Indiana coach Tom Crean told Sporting News. “I’m not privy to the real information, but those two are producers. They end up going to two teams in the Final Four in the NBA, so at the end of the day it may cost them early but it could help them more later.

“It doesn’t register with somebody like Cody because he’s in a situation where he’s improving constantly. We’ll never see his best days at Indiana no matter how long he’s here, because there’s just too much upside. His next coach, or his next two coaches, are going to be the beneficiaries of him. There are always going to be risks, but that’s why there are insurance policies. You throw caution to the wind and you go at it.”

A 6-11 center, Zeller averaged 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds and shot 62.3 percent from the floor as a freshman. He was chosen to Sporting News' all-freshman team and helped elevate Indiana from a 12-20 finish to 27 victories and a spot in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

Since concluding his freshman season with 20 points and seven rebounds in a breathtaking 102-90 loss to eventual NCAA champion Kentucky, Zeller has “attacked”—Crean’s word—his training regimen for the 2012-13 season. Zeller’s weight is up to 240 pounds, his vertical jump to 39 inches and he recently managed 20 reps of 185 pounds on the bench press—more than his older brother, Tyler, managed at the NBA Scouting Combine.

Crean has been thrilled to be able to work directly with Zeller for a couple hours each week this summer as the result of the NCAA’s new offseason regulations.

“He’s benefited as much as anybody from the new rules,” Crean said. “What we’ve been able to do is structure his workouts and challenge him. It’s important to challenge him and show him new things because once he gets it, he can get better so fast.

“He’s getting more comfortable shooting the ball from the perimeter. He always shot 3s in our drills, but he was never comfortable doing it in games. One of the biggest things is to put him in a situation that no matter where you think teams are going to double him from, there’s an answer for it. And not just schematic answers, but answers he comes up with himself.”

Zeller’s return to Indiana puts the Hoosiers in position to challenge for their first Final Four in more than a decade and their first national championship in nearly two. Much like Sullinger, though, Zeller’s choice to remain in college was motivated by his desire not to trade the lifestyle of a student for the lifestyle of the working adult, at least for now.

“It was more his comfort level,” Crean said. “He loves school. He’s very good at it. He’s in the business school, which is a really big deal for him. When he said he’s not ready to go do all those things—pay bills and own a house—he meant it.

“He’s smart enough to know there’s a lot of room for him to get better. There’s two ways to look at it: There’s NBA-draftable and NBA-ready, where you’re able to be a producer. And I think there’s another notch. He can go from a producer to being an NBA All-Star. I’d like to think he’s on that path. “

In Sullinger’s sophomore season, he grew from a player primarily avoiding fouls to an elite position defender on one of the country’s best defensive teams, as well as blossoming from strictly a low-post scorer to a proficient face-up shooter who made hit 40 percent of his 3-point shots.

Zeller is an excellent ballhandler and passer for a player his size, and he has shown a shooting touch to those inside the IU program. Like Sullinger, though, he did most of his work in proximity to the goal in his first college season. Another year at Indiana will give him the chance to display a full package of skills.

Crean believes NBA general managers who “base their decision on the body of work are the ones that are going to do well over the long haul.” Zeller has the chance to achieve true greatness at Indiana before moving on to the next step in his basketball career.

“Cody Zeller is back here getting better every day,” Crean said. “I really think he loves being with his teammates. They became a very close-knit group. He fits so well.

“I keep telling him, ‘You’re getting better this June and July so you can play in future Junes.’ ”